Threat of gated enclaves

Urban development through gated communities, especially in big cities of the country, is a trend that continues to thrive – well, at a serious cost to the environment. Big tracts of land, especially those located on city outskirts, are the builders’ favourite nowadays. Such pieces of land are bulldozed into flat surfaces and turned into gated and guarded enclaves. Natural green growth is an obvious casualty in the process – something that transforms into colossal environmental degradation, with time. For this big a reason, the concern expressed by Sindh Local Government and Forests Minister Nasir Hussain Shah, during a recent meeting of the heads of various municipal agencies in the province, is indeed welcome.

If the provincial government has, as a matter of principle, decided that permission will not be granted for new projects in the province of Sindh until tree plantation is ensured by executors, it must be commended as a good green initiative, given that we are a nation that is still stuck in graver, life-threatening problems like lack of food and water, and stuff. However, that’s just not enough. Environmental concerns need to be a major proponent of the design aspect of the gated structures. Not just tree plantation, but a proper environmental design needs to be framed, as a template, and enforced for implementation by builders and developers.

Even while framing such an environmental design, we would only be catering to nature for the sake of people i.e. making use of nature for our personal benefits like having parks to stroll and jog; bringing area under cultivation to fulfil our eating needs; and getting fresh air to breathe. Another aspect that must be brought in consideration is nature for the sake of itself i.e. providing a self-sustaining mechanism for the nature.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 29^th, 2020.

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